Finding Parker
by mph1473
Summary: When Rebecca tells Booth that he won't see Parker for three months because of other plans, Booth turns to Brennan to vent. Then they discover that he's had legal rights Parker, for his whole life and decide to deal with the problem before it'll get any worse.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: This will be between a two-shot and a five-shot story. The whole thing about Booth not having any legal rights to Parker has always bothered me simply because, in my head at least, that doesn't make any sense unless Booth was a huge idiot or Rebbeca was more manipulative then we thought. Since Booth isn't an idiot and we don't know much about Rebecca other then she kinda bugs me I decided to fix that.**

 **Since I'm not a lawyer nor do I have any real inclination to do a whole lot of research on this other then what I already googled, I might take a few little liberties.**

 **On with the show!**

* * *

Brennan was sitting in her office finishing up a file on her and Booth's latest case when Booth suddenly burst into her office. He was clearly pissed and was mumbling under his breath until he collapsed on the couch with his head in his hands.

Brennan got out of her desk chair and made her way over to sit next to Booth to see what was wrong. "Booth? What's wrong?"

"Rebecca." Booth mumbled without lifting his head from his hands.

"What did she do?"

Booth lifted his head to look at Brennan. "You know how I said that Rebecca was letting me have Parker for the next three weeks before they went on a six-week vacation?" Brennan nodded her head in affirmation. "Well, she just called and said Drew decided to take Parker on a father-son fishing trip during those three weeks. He says he wanted some quality time with him before the family trip." Brennan just stared at Booth in shock as she processed this information. Suddenly Booth jumped off the couch and started pacing again. "I'M HIS FATHER! I SHOULD BE THE ONE TO TAKE HIM FISHING AND WANT QUALITY TIME WITH HIM! I THOUGHT THAT WAS WHAT THE SIX WEEK VACATION WAS! BUT NOOOO, IT'S PRACTICALLY A FAMILY REUNION. I get that Parker should spend time with his step-dad's family but, I feel like I'm being replaced!" Booth slumped back down on to the couch throwing his head onto the back of it with a groan.

"You're a good father Booth. I know that you know that, and most importantly Parker knows that. Rebecca could try to replace you but every time her boyfriends tried to take on your role as his father he always comes back to you. When a scientist looks for proof they look for patterns in the data, and this is a consistent pattern. Parker ALWAYS comes back."

"Thanks, Bones. But, that doesn't change the fact that I won't see my son for over three months."

"What!?" Brennan was absolutely shocked by this.

"Well, Drew's taking him on a fishing trip for two weeks, then a week packing for the six-week family reunion. Then Rebecca doesn't like disrupting Parker's routine at the start of the school year. So, I generally don't see him for the first few weeks of the term. So, that's over three months. I'm not a squint but I can add."

"Booth, that's not right. Seeing you should be a part of his routine. It shouldn't be a disruption. And you most definitely see your son more than once every three months."

"I want to Bones but, I have no legal rights to him."  
"Well…" Brennan got up and went over to her desk and grabbed a stack of papers and came back over to the couch.

"What did you do Bones? I told you I can handle this on my own."  
"I know Booth but, this didn't seem legal. I know you and I know you're not an idiot so I think something happened so that you forgot about signing a document giving you rights or maybe you just didn't know that you signed it." She handed Booth the stack of papers that was information on the 'Acknowledgment of Paternity' form that unmarried couples sign when they have a kid.

"How'd you get this Bones?"

"I know how to work a search engine Booth."

Booth just laughed. "Right. Of course, you do." Booth started reading the pages that Brennan printed out, suddenly remembering that when he was signing the papers after Parker was born, the stack seemed larger then he thought it should be. Brennan saw the memory flash in his eyes and knew that he remembered something.

"Booth, what are you thinking?"

"I was thinking that the forms I signed after Parker was born was larger than I thought it would be. The problem was that I was in such a hurry because I snuck off base and I didn't understand the legal jargon that Rebecca's lawyer just gave me the cliff's notes version."

"I don't know what that means."

"It means that he gave me a summary of the forms. I actually did tell her that I wanted legal rights to him now that I think about it. I didn't question any of it."

"Ok, well do you have any important documents or anything legal regarding Parker?"

"Yeah, I kept everything. I made Rebecca give me copies of everything and as far as I know. After Parker was born I got a package of legal documents about him, it was his birth certificate and other documents."

Booth had stopped paying attention realizing that there was a good chance that he had legal rights to his son and his ex-had just tricked him all these years. Brennan put her hand on his arm to try and regain his attention. "Go home, get all the legal documents you have on Parker and bring them back to my place and we'll go over them together. If we find an AOP form, we should probably call Caroline and get her help."

"Ok, thanks, Bones! I'll see you in an hour." With that Booth ran out of her office and to his apartment to find the documents about Parker. Brennan watched amused as Booth ran through the lab and skidded around the corner, nearly knocking a security guard over in his hast to locate the papers.

"Hey sweetie, where's studly off to in such a hurry?" Brennan looked up as Angela walked into her office. "We could also hear him yelling earlier, but now he looks like he's on cloud nine. Oh! Did you finally get on that ride! I bet he was thrilled!"

"I don't know what that means. In regard to, why he was upset, Rebecca's new husband wants to take Parker on a 'father-son' fishing trip for three weeks when Booth was scheduled to have Parker. After the three weeks Rebecca, Parker and Drew, Rebecca's new husband, are going away for six weeks to a family reunion and Rebecca doesn't let Booth see Parker the first few weeks into the school year because she doesn't want to 'mess with his routine." When Brennan told Angela about how Rebecca doesn't want to mess with Parker's routine, she had used air quotes and Angela couldn't help but smirk at how far her friend had come. But once she registered exactly what Brennan was saying her amused expression turned into one of equal parts shock and horror.

"Bren! That's not right! Is he going to do something?"

"Well, I asked if he ever signed an acknowledgment of paternity form. Booth is too smart to not be informed about this. Or at least want legal protection."

"Studly is definitely more than just brawn my friend."

"I don't know what that means."

"He's more than muscle and a gun. He's smart."

"He's very smart. He learned to lay small because of his abusive father."

"It's law low sweetie, and do me a favour and don't tell Booth that."

"I asked Booth about an Acknowledgement of Paternity form and he told me that when Parker was born he signed a bunch of papers, but since he snuck off base and didn't know what a lot of the forms meant because of the legal jargon he took Rebecca's lawyer at their word. He probably has one but was tricked by Rebecca."

"That bitch!"

"I agree. I told Booth to get every document he has about Parker and bring them back to my place so we can look at it together. So, I've got to be going. I need to speak to Caroline on my way home." With that Brennan grabbed the last of her things and left the lab.

Angela left Brennan's office and went to find Can. After walking in her office, she regaled the entire story to her, minus the sexual innuendos at Brennan and Booth.

"That bitch!"

"That's what I said. You knew Rebecca earlier, was she always so vindictive?"

"I really don't know. I met her at a frat party about a year after Booth and I broke up. All I can say was that I didn't like her and she freaked me out a little. Booth and I decided we were better off as friends and I wasn't a threat to her relationship with Booth but she treated me like I was. I dunno, I always thought it was just college crap."

"At least some of this crap with Parker might be dealt with."

"Seel is many things but, he isn't an idiot. I'm glad that he remembered to ask for something."

"Nothing gets past Dr. Brennan though."

"Thank god for that. But I've got to say, hold on to your hats people. We are in for a bumpy ride."

* * *

An hour later Brennan was in her apartment working on an article on her laptop before Booth said he'd arrive. On her way home, she had stopped by Caroline's office to see if she had any information on family law, specifically about AOP's. Luckily, she did and gave Brennan a brief overview of what an AOP is and what rights a father has once signed. Essentially the AOP gives the father the same rights that he would if the couple had been married before the child was born. If Booth had signed an AOP he would have guaranteed visitation with Parker but he would be forced to pay child support. To Brennan's knowledge, Booth had been paying child support so he was getting screwed over in the agreement while Rebecca was reaping the benefits. Caroline had said that if Booth did sign an AOP and the terms weren't being followed then she would handle the legal side of things. After her talk with Caroline, Brennan had gone to Wong Foo's and picked up dinner for the two of them and was setting it in the oven to keep warm when she heard Booth knock on the door.

"Come in, Booth." Sure, enough the door opened and Booth entered.

"Bones! What have I said about keeping your door locked? Anyone could have walked in."

"But I knew it was you Booth. You have a very distinct knock." Booth mock glared at Brennan from the other side of her kitchen counter in frustration. "Would it make you feel better knowing that I unlocked it five minutes ago, right before I knew you would arrive?" Brennan said smirking at him.

"Yes, it would. Thank you, Bones." Brennan pulled the food out of the oven and laid it out on the coffee table then sat on the couch. Booth sat down next to her with the paperwork he brought.

"Is that everything?"

"Yeah. This is every legal document or seemingly important document I have on Parker. It has everything from his birth certificate to school enrolment forms."

"Ok. Give me half so I can look. It should look like this." Caroline had been kind enough to give her a standard Acknowledgement of Paternity form that she had in her office.

"Great. Let's get to work." The partners sat for over an hour looking through every piece of information that Booth had on Parker. They were coming to the end of the file when Brennan realized that Booth reading a piece of paper much more thoroughly then he had the others.

"Booth?" When he didn't respond she tried again. "Booth?" It seemed as if he couldn't hear her. "BOOTH!"

"Huh? Bones why are you shouting?" Booth searched the room looking for the cause of his partner's shout.

"I said your name three times but you didn't respond." She watched him intently as he glanced down at the document in his hand. "What did you find."

"Oh, right Uh, I found it Bones. It's an Acknowledgement of Paternity form. Look, I signed it and Rebecca signed it, and it's even notarized. It says that once Parker had turned three years old, I had him every other weekend and when he started school I had him on school breaks and we split the holidays evenly. I'm also supposed to be paying child support at $600 a month and I've been paying closer to eight." Brennan had never seen Booth like this. He seemed numb. For six years he believed that he had no legal rights to his son when in reality he did. He was forced to bend to Rebecca's will when he had just as much right to Parker as she did.

Brennan looked at the document and quickly scanning it knowing immediately what she had to do. "Booth, I'm going to call Caroline." Booth just nodded acknowledging that he'd heard her. Once Brennan got off the phone with Caroline she came back over to Booth. "She wants to see it so I told her I'd scan it so she can look at it before we talk to her tomorrow. Is there any chance you remember who Rebecca's lawyer was? Did you have a business card or anything?"  
Booth finally was pulled out of his trance and responded. "I'm not sure but it'd probably be in this mess if I did have it." Brennan and Booth started looking through the file looking for anything that would have Rebecca's lawyer's information on it. Eventually, they found a business card folded up and wedged in between a hospital discharge form and Parkers birth certificate. Brennan went and scanned the document and sent to Caroline along with the lawyer's contact information. Brennan came back to the living room and noticed that Booth had gotten a beer out of the fridge and was drinking it quickly. She just sat down next to him until he was ready to speak.

"What am I going to do Bones?" Booth didn't look up from his beer bottle as he spoke.

"Well, the way I look at it you have two options. You can talk to Rebecca, maybe figure out why she did it and come to an agreement so you'll get what you were entitled to. Or, you could go the legal route maybe even go to court." Booth just sighed. He didn't want to go to court. He knew that it wasn't going to go well for him considering he had broken the law trying to be there for Parker's birth, and that's why he rushed through the forms. He forgot he signed them. He wasn't certain any judge would take pity on him even though he was the wronged person here.

Booth pondered all of this then he sighed again. "I'll talk to Caroline but I'm hoping that I can just talk to Rebecca and figure this out without getting lawyer's involved." Brennan nodded quickly pulling out her cellphone and sending a quick text to Caroline asking her to not contact Rebecca's lawyer for another few days.

"I'll go with you to talk to Caroline. We're partners Booth, and partners help each other." After a moment of silence, a buzz from Brennan's phone indicating a text sounded. When Booth looked at her curiously Brennan said "That was Caroline. I just asked her not to contact Rebecca's lawyer until after we spoke to her. She agreed."

"Thanks, Bones. Oh jeez is that the time?" Booth suddenly got up and started shuffling papers into the file to leave.

"Wait, Booth. It's late and we're both going to Caroline's office in the morning. It makes no sense for you to go home then come back to pick me up by 8 am. Just stay in the guest room. All your stuff is still here from the last time you stayed over."

"Ok, thanks, Bones." The partners cleaned up the take-out containers then headed to their separate rooms.

"Goodnight Booth."

"Night, Bones. And thank you. For everything.

* * *

 **AN: Acknowledgement of Paternity forms are a real thing that they make people sign when an unmarried couple has a baby. When I looked it up (procrastination for the win!) I saw that they work with military personnel to deal with these things and they are signed at the hospital. Since Booth isn't an idiot I'm shocked something like this didn't happen.**

 **Reviews make me happy!**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Thank you so much for the love. I can't believe that response this is getting! I have no real sense of Rebecca's character so I sort of made it up. I didn't make her to terrible though her motives behind hiding the whole thing were pretty awful. So, take that as you will.**

 **I should probably mention that this isn't a romantic fic but I through some subtle fluff between B &B because I just can't help it.**

 **On with the show!**

* * *

The next morning Booth and Brennan headed to Caroline's office to see what could be done about the AOP. Caroline pretty much reiterated what Brennan said. So, Booth had two options, he could talk to Rebecca and see if they could sort it out. Or, they could get lawyers involved and drag it out by possibly going to court. Booth took all of this in and told Caroline what he had told Brennan the night before.

"I'm going to try to talk to Rebecca first. I don't want to turn into a custody battle if we don't have to. We already have the legal documents signed so I honestly don't see the point in dragging it out. So, don't call Rebecca's lawyer until I say you can."

"Alright, Cher. It's up to you but when the shit hits the fan you call me."

Brennan looked between Booth and Caroline very confused. "I don't know what that means. Who would throw feces at a wind turbine?"

"The Mythbusters."

"Who?"

"Never mind. But, now that I say that, you might like it. The show follows a few guys who perform different science experiments based on pop culture myths." Caroline was smirking at the pair as they left her office bickering about the entertainment value of science.

* * *

Booth and Brennan went their separate ways after their meeting with Caroline. Brennan had gone to the lab while Booth had driven over to Rebecca's place. He knew that Rebecca didn't go into the office on Tuesday mornings, and since Parker was at school they would have a chance to talk privately. So, if he caused a scene Parker wouldn't witness it.

Booth sat in his SUV outside Rebecca's house trying to work up the nerve to go see his ex. After ten minutes of staring at the house, Booth got out of the car and made his way up the front door. He raised his hand to knock before he hesitated, he wasn't sure what was going to be on the other side of the door but, he knew that he needed to deal with it. He checked that he had the copy of the AOP, once he confirmed that he had the papers he knocked on the door.

The door swung open to reveal a confused Rebecca. "Seeley, what are you doing here?"

"We need to talk. Can I come in?" Booth was not going to take no for an answer and Rebecca could see that in his posture. She simply stepped aside and let him through. Booth all but stormed into the living room as Rebecca followed him. Booth looked at her for a minute before she spoke.

"Seeley, what is going on?" He pulled the legal documents out of his pocket, unfolded them before handing them to Rebecca.

"I found these yesterday. Bones was asking me about paternity rights and I remembered thinking the stack of forms I signed when Parker was born was a little thicker than I thought it would be. I was in such a hurry that I didn't thoroughly check what I was signing. So, once Bones started asking about legal rights, I went through the documents that I had on Parker and I found an Acknowledgement of Paternity form. According to this, and my lawyer, I've had FULL legal rights to Parker his whole life." Booth stared at Rebecca waiting for her to say something.

"Oh." Rebecca started flipping through that pages in her hands.

"Oh? That's all you have to say? Oh. Seriously Rebecca, what the hell? You've been threatening me FOR YEARS to take Parker away from. You told me that I have no legal right to him, that since we weren't married when he was born you didn't have to share him. So, what you tricked me. Why?"

Rebecca was silent for a long time. She looked at Booth finally realizing how much she had hurt him and Parker by keeping them apart. At the time, her reasons seemed valid but now, it was simply selfish to keep them apart. She knew that she had been trying to find someone permanent for her and Parker, and she was inadvertently trying to replace Booth in Parker's life. She knew that neither 'Booth Boy' would take that lightly and that they would push back against it.

"At the time, my reasons seemed sound. You were always away on deployment, you were never home to be a dad. Your gambling problem was starting to fully take hold before Parker was born and I was trying to keep Parker safe. I thought it would be better if I kept some distance between you and Parker for a while. Originally, I was only going to hide it from you for a year or two, but the gambling never stopped, then I stopped believing it would. Then it did. You pulled your shit together but I couldn't get past it and I kept Parker away long after you changed. Thank Dr. Brennan for that, by the way." Rebecca took a deep breath and continued. "I had gotten used to having Parker around constantly and I liked being his main parent. I wanted help; hell, I NEEDED it. But…" Rebecca trailed off and looked at Booth and simply gestured at him.

"But, you didn't want me."

"Pretty much. I wasn't trying to replace you at first. It was simply about keeping Parker safe and giving you some space to go through what you were going through. Then, I got selfish and started keeping him away from you."

"You thought I would purposely put Parker in harm's way?"

"No! You would never do anything on purpose but I thought you might do something accidentally…"

"Seriously, Rebecca! I can't fucking believe this. I honestly thought that there was an explanation for this. But the reason is that you didn't TRUST ME WITH MY SON!" Booth was staring Rebecca down as shame washed over her. Booth had suddenly come to a realization in the deafening silence. "Do you trust me with Parker now?"

Rebecca looked at him completely shocked. "Of course, I trust you with Parker. What kind of question is that?"

"Seriously? After the crap you put me through, I have to ask." Booth looked at Rebecca and he realized that he had the perfect opportunity to get what he wanted. Which was what he was legally entitled too. More time with Parker. "Prove it."

"What?"

"Prove that you trust me with Parker." He wasn't asking, he was telling.  
"Ok, how?"

"Give me this." Booth gestured at the AOP that Rebecca was still holding. "I want everything that I'm entitled too, according to that AOP. I want every other weekend, GUARANTEED. I want evenly divided up school breaks and holidays. I want 50/50. I get priority over Drew and that crap about disrupting his routine at the beginning of the school year stops NOW! I should be a part of his routine, damn it! Not a fucking disruption. And it starts now! Tell Drew that he can take MY SON fishing another time, and not on my weeks with him." Booth glared at Rebecca hoping that she would agree with him. If not he was heading straight to Caroline and he was going to take Rebecca to court no matter the consequences.

"Ok."

Booth stared on in disbelieve. "Ok?"

"Yeah, ok. Believe it or not Seeley, I think you're a good dad, and you deserve to have access to Parker. That's not that big of an ask. Honestly, Parker was not thrilled with the idea of giving up his time with you to go fishing with Drew." Booth felt a surge of pride go through him knowing that Parker preferred to spend time with him over his step-dad. He chuckled slightly knowing that Bones would've referred to that as his 'Alpha Male Tendencies'.

"Thank you, Rebecca."

"You're welcome, Seeley." Booth turned to leave when Rebecca spoke. "You can have Parker this weekend. I'll drop him off Friday night around 6 then you can drop him here Sunday evening."

"Really?" Booth was shocked. Whenever Rebecca changed plans it was to cancel, never to give him more time with Parker.

"Yeah. I owe you more than a few weekends."

"Thank you." Booth started heading towards the door when he turned around. "Rebecca, if you ever pull this crap again don't think that I won't hesitate to take to court." Rebecca just nodded knowing that there wasn't any point in arguing with him. With that Booth left to tell Bones the good news.

* * *

Brennan was at home working on the newest chapter of her book when she heard and loud footsteps coming towards her front door. She knew immediately that it was Booth running down the hall, so she started untangling herself from the pile of blankets she was under. As soon as she swung her legs out so she could stand, a rather persistent knocking on her front door started. She barely had the chain off the door when Booth barged in. Brennan didn't waste a minute asking how it went with Rebecca.

"So, how'd it go?" Brennan couldn't hide her nervousness. She had been trying to occupy herself and focus her nervous energy on anything but for the first time in her life, Brennan couldn't focus.

"It actually went really well. I yelled at her for a bit and I asked why she did it. She told me that she basically didn't trust me at first. I was always away and she was worried about my gambling. Then she just got selfish, she had gotten used to having not having to share Parker."

"You're a good father Booth. Please don't forget that."

"Thanks, Bones."

Booth and Brennan had fallen into one of their 'moments' when the beeping of the dryer brought them out of it. "What happens now?"

"She agreed to everything I'm legally entitled too. I now have joint custody of my son, which I guess I've always had. I get every other weekend, EVENLY divided up holidays and school breaks. The fishing trip with Drew has been canceled and there isn't going to be any more of this disrupting his routine crap." Booth was practically dancing around Brennan's living room when he turned around and swept Brennan up in a hug. Brennan burst out laughing as she was suddenly lifted up off the ground and spun around. When Booth put her back down Brennan was still grinning from year to year, knowing that she hadn't felt like that in years.

Booth just smiled down at her and moved some of her hair out of her eyes to behind her ear. After a minute Booth spoke, "Thank you Bones. If it wasn't for you I never would have known that I full rights to my son, and I definitely never would have fought for it. So, thank you."

Brennan just smiled at Booth who still had his arms wrapped around her waist. "You're welcome Booth. It's what partners and friends do, right?"

"Right. Oh!" Booth suddenly removed his arms from around Brennan and ran to the kitchen. "This requires a celebratory drink Bones!" As Booth rummaged around her kitchen looking for god knows what, Brennan couldn't help but think that this issue might not be over yet. The odds of Rebecca letting Booth have what he was legally entitled to were slim, but this is one of the few times she hopes that she is wrong.

* * *

 **AN: I hope you liked it! Now I have a request, I can either end it one of two ways, I can make Rebecca super agreeable, make all the drama ends here, and Booth gets everything he wanted. Or, I could drag it out and have a legal battle because Rebecca didn't want to share Parker. I'd like your opinion on what I should do. Send me a PM or a leave a review with your preference!**

 **Review if you please!**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Thank you to all who commented and reviewed! It made my week! I'm so glad you all like it. And to the guest reviewer who works in family law (there might've been more than one but I can't be sure) I'm so glad that you think I wrote this accurately! I took some of your suggestions about what's going to happen with Rebecca.**

 **This is the last chapter. I know a lot of you wanted it to be dragged out but I don't have the time or the knowledge to drag it out.**

 **On with the show!**

* * *

Months had gone by and so far, Rebecca had followed the AOP to the letter. Booth had every other weekend with Parker and they divided up Easter and spring break evenly. Brennan had never been so grateful to be wrong in her life.

As spring slowly started changing into summer Booth had been getting more excited for his uninterrupted three weeks with Parker. He had planned to go camping with him and Booth had learned about a fair that was coming to the area so he was going to take Parker to that at some point.

Brennan was sitting at her desk in her office grading papers that her graduate students had written when Booth burst into her office.

"Bones, I need your help."

Brennan was thoroughly confused. Booth was never one to ask for help unless something really bad happened. This thought mad Brennan increasingly nervous as she went through the possible scenarios that Booth needed her assistance with. "Of course, Booth. What do you need my help with?"

"Rebecca changed her mind. I'm not getting the three weeks with Parker before their six-week family reunion. I told her that if she screwed me over again I wouldn't hesitate to take it to court."

"You have legal rights to your son, Booth. She's not allowed to do this anymore. What exactly do you need my help with though?"

"I'm taking her to court. I am done and I am mad." Brennan uncharacteristically jumped out of her chair and gave Booth a hug. Brennan had watched for over a year as Booth fought to spend time with his son and be told time and again that he had no legal right to him. She was ecstatic that he was finally fighting for him, even though it was brought on by Rebecca breaking the law. As Brennan stepped back from Booth she looked sheepishly up at Booth. Booth saw the odd expression on Brennan's face but decided not to comment knowing that it would just freak her out. "I need your help fighting her Bones."

"Anything you need Booth." A moment passed as Booth tried to sort out his thoughts so it didn't come out as one giant sentence that wouldn't make any sense.

"I'm going to talk to Hank this afternoon."

"Your grandfather?" Brennan said in confusion.

"No. Hank Lutrell. We met him while we were working the Charlie Kent case. He and I fought together in the Gulf War. Well, he's a judge and he is in his chambers and said that he'd meet with me to talk about this."

Brennan didn't know what to say to that. Of course, she remembered Hank once he mentioned the Kent case but she couldn't figure out why he wanted to talk to Hank when he already had Caroline. Booth somehow knew what she was thinking and explained. "Bones, it isn't about not having access to the information, or that I don't trust Caroline. It's that I need to talk to someone I know as a friend."

"Ok, Booth. Do you want me to go with you?"

"Yeah. That would be nice."

* * *

A few hours later Booth and Brennan were sitting outside Hanks office when the door suddenly burst open and Hank rolled into the hallway.

"Booth! What the hell are you doing here?" Booth got out of the chair and went over to Hank and shook his hand.

"He called and made an appointment so, he is here to talk to you." Hank looked at Brennan a little confused at her blunt manner. "It's an expression Bones." Booth turned to Brennan and smiled amused by his partner's antics but hoping that she wouldn't push the issue. He had just enough nerve to go through with taking Rebecca to court and if much derailed him he wouldn't go through with it. Brennan decided not to push it, thinking that she wasn't likely to understand the greeting no matter how much Booth tried.

"Lutrell, how've you been?"

"I've been good. Rolling over feet and taking names." Booth laughed at him and Brennan followed Hank into his office.

Once Everyone was situated, Booth and Brennan in two chairs on one side of the desk with Hank behind it, Hank started talking. "Seriously Booth, what's going on? You randomly call me up and ask to talk about family law and you didn't go beyond that. I need some context here."

"Well, after some pushing from Bones I went to Rebecca to talk about my rights to Parker because I had found an Acknowledgement of Paternity form that Rebecca and I had signed after Parker was born. The form basically said that not only did I have legal rights to him but that we are supposed to split time pretty evenly with him. Rebecca always told me that I had no rights to him so when I found out that I did I was livid. I confronted her and asked why she hid it from me and why she did it. She told me that she was trying to protect Parker and that keeping him away from me was the best way to do that. She said that she was only going to do it for a year or two but then she got selfish and she never told me the truth. She wanted to replace me in my son's life. At first, I talked to her, to see if we could work this out without getting stuck in a court battle but, I was supposed to have him for three weeks before Rebecca, Parker and her new husband Drew went on a six-week vacation/ family reunion but she called me this morning telling me that I can't have him, even though they're going away for six weeks."

"Booth, that's messed up. She wasn't just acting awful or manipulative, she actually broke the law. Did you tell her that you wouldn't stand for this anymore once you confronted her?"

"I told her that if she continued to treat me as if I had no rights to my son I would take legal action. That's actually why I'm here. I want to know what can be done."

"Well, if you have proof of how she treated you, you could take this to court and she could lose her license to practice law and she could lose custody of Parker. She could even go to jail."

"I don't want her to go to jail. I want what I am entitled too."

"This might be going beyond that now. She broke the ethics code of the District Lawyers Association and she violated a contract _severely_ for years. If this gets out she would lose her license. Considering you didn't know that she was breaking the law you've mentioned pieces of this story to other people, someone knows and she might be disbarred anyway."

Booth sat silently digesting everything that he had just heard. He slowly started to piece together what kind of evidence he would have against Rebecca. He wondered if he had old text messages and emails. Conveniently he was one of those guys who printed important information out so he might have paper copies of things that would have been deleted from his hard drive. "Does it all have to be physical evidence or would witnesses be allowed?"

"Witnesses are allowed. Why, what are you thinking?"

"A lot of people I've worked with knew about the 'supposed' situation with Parker and I had mentioned that I had no rights to him so she controlled when I saw him." Booth suddenly turned to look at Brennan "Bones, do you think the squints would testify?"

"What are squints?" Hank interrupted in confusion.

"It's what he calls my teams of scientists. We squint at things." Brennan imitated the 'squinting' face Booth uses to emphasize his point before turning her attention back to Booth, "We all would. I'm not sure about Zach simply because I don't know how much he knows."

"He would only know what he overheard or got second hand. I told you, Angela, Hodgins, Cam definitely knows, and I told Dr. Goodman when he was still around. A few agents at the FBI know and so does Sid."

"The guy who owns Wong Foo's?"

"Yeah. When I started out at the DC office I didn't have many friends so I started talking to Sid. We became friends after this." Booth explained his history with Sid after seeing the look of pure confusion on Brennan's face.

Booth turned back Hank before he asked his next question. "Can family members testify?"

"Yes, but I'd suggest leaving Parker out of this."

"I wasn't talking about Parker. I meant my grandfather. He knew almost every single thing that happened between Rebecca and I. He never liked her but he knew about everything since the beginning. There are very few people who were there since the beginning."

"Oh. That should be fine. Well, Booth, it sounds like you have a good case." Booth wanted to feel complete relief by what Hank had told him but he was equally nervous as he was relieved. He really wondered if all of this was going to work out in his favour and how Parker was going to react. He suddenly realized that depending on how Rebecca was punished Parker could possibly end up without a parent completely.

"Booth?" Brennan put her hand on Booth's arm to get his attention. When he looked over at her she finished her questioning. "What are you thinking?"

"I just don't want Parker to get hurt."  
"Parker is a smart boy Booth. He won't be hurt by you fighting for what's right." Booth nodded his head, just hoping that Brennan was right.

Booth and Brennan said their goodbyes to Hank and left. On their way, back to the lab, the SUV was silent as Booth was thinking about what he was planning to do, and Brennan didn't say anything. After a while Booth spoke, "Bones, do you think the squints would testify?"

"I already told you they would Booth. We all would if you asked."

After a beat of silence Booth continued, "Would you?"

"Of course, Booth. Anything you need." Booth smiled knowing that was completely true.

When they got to the lab Booth asked everyone if they would be willing to testify on his behalf in a trial. Of course, they all agreed except for Zach, he is only allowed on the stand when he knows all the facts regarding a human skeleton. He would be useless in this.

* * *

Over the next few weeks, Booth had got the ball rolling on legally obtaining his rights. Rebecca had been served with papers stating that Booth was taking her to court regarding the AOP and was not happy. She confronted him about it the same way she confronted him about having a background check done on Drew, so right in the middle of the Hoover building. This time Booth did not back away as she stormed in and yelled but he yelled back and everyone in the bullpen watched as Booth and Rebecca yelled at each other. During her tirade Rebecca forgot that Booth knew he had legal rights to Parker and she used the same threat against him, saying that since they were never married and didn't have any legal rights to Parker she could take him away and he wouldn't see Parker again. This time Booth wasn't having any of it, he yelled right back saying that he did have legal rights to Parker and had his whole life. She was the one that hid the fact he had rights and that she had broken his trust and the law for six years. In the midst of all the yelling she said that she wished that she hadn't had him sign the AOP then she could move on with her life, and she wouldn't have been stuck in DC. The entire bullpen watched with great intensity as the battle royal commenced in the hallways of the Major Crimes division. Even Director Cullen had come out of his office and even though the shouting was a distraction from anybody getting their work done, he was impressed that Booth was finally standing up to his ex.

By the end of the screaming match, everyone in major crimes knew what was going on between Booth and Rebecca and everyone in the entire building would know by lunch.

Before long Rebecca's boss found out that Booth was suing for joint custody as well as breach of contract and fraud. Booth hadn't wanted to sue for fraud but once a judge looked at the evidence, that charge was tacked on top. When her boss had found out she had been suspended depending on the verdict of the trial.

Booth had sorted out who could testify on his behalf and as Brennan predicted the entire squint squad, minus Zach, had agreed to testify. Even Dr. Goodman who was back in DC for a few weeks to visit family and work had agreed to testify.

Booth sorted everything out nervously waiting for the trial to see how drastically his life would change.

* * *

The day of the trial everyone filed into the courtroom and everything proceeded as expected. The witnesses were called, the evidence was presented and everyone in the room was relatively tense. The squints, Dr. Goodman and Cam all said that Booth had believed that he had no legal rights to his son until a few months earlier. When Hank, Booth's grandfather, got on the stand he told them that he knew something fishy was going on, he knew that his grandson had more brain then to not sign anything to have legal rights to his son. He also mentioned that since Rebecca was a lawyer he found it increasingly odd that there was no formal agreement made.

The trial went on for hours, with witnesses called on both sides, though the witnesses for Rebecca were confused more than anything. Since some the witnesses for Rebecca were single moms as well, they had been a little baffled by the idea that an AOP hadn't been signed because one had been signed in their case.

Most of the statements were brief with few questions asked by either attorney. The evidence was looked at, the day had dragged on and to Booth, it felt like it had taken a week to get to the judge declaring the verdict.

Before Booth knew it, that was exactly what was happening. Booth and Rebecca were ordered to stand as the judge delivered his verdict.

"In hearing the case brought forward today and examining all of the evidence my ruling is as follows." Everyone in the courtroom held the breath as the judge unfolded the piece of paper to read out the ruling.

"Rebecca Stinson, you have broken a signed contract for over five years. You committed fraud and illegally kept a parent and child separate for reasons that will not stand up in a court of law. From this moment on you have been disbarred and are no longer licensed to practice law in the District of Columbia." Booth couldn't believe it. Rebecca had been disbarred for what she had done to him. He knew that it was a possibility but he was shocked that it had happened He looked back to look at Brennan and he wasn't surprised that Brennan wasn't at all stunned by the proclamation. She looked towards Booth and smiled reassuringly at him.

They both looked up at the judge as he began speaking. "Custody of Parker Booth has been awarded to Seeley Booth with Rebecca Stinson being allowed visitation. Ms. Stinson will be required to pay the court a fine of $5,000. We will revisit Ms. Stinson's visitation rights in six months' time. Though Ms. Stinson, I wouldn't hold out hope for you ever having custody of Parker in the future, at best you will be allowed every other weekend with him. And that is the best-case scenario. Court dismissed." The judge banged his gavel indicating that the trial was over.

Booth was stunned, he couldn't believe that he got custody of Parker. After everything that had happened he had not only what he was legally entitled too, but so much more. He was pulled out of his shocked silence as Brennan came running up to him and hugged him suddenly. As Brennan stepped back she realized that Booth was still in complete shock.

"Booth? Are you alright?"

"Yeah, Bones. I'm great. I'm just shocked."

"You deserve it, Booth. You're a good father and deserve to be a father to Parker full time." He looked at Brennan and she was giving him her 'just-for-Seeley-Booth-smile' and he couldn't believe that this woman had helped him win a battle that he had been fighting alone for so long that he thought he would never win. But he did and she was still standing in front of him smiling. Impulsively he leaned down and kissed Brennan quickly on the lips. Before she had a chance to respond he backed away looking sheepish.

"Oh, Bones. I- er-uhhh…." Booth stuttered unsure what to say. He just kissed Brennan very impulsively and _very_ publicly. He knew that his very good day was likely about to become very bad.

To add to his long list of shocks Brennan stood up on her tiptoes and kissed him again. She smiled again and said, "It's ok Booth."  
Before she had a chance to elaborate they heard little fast footsteps and an excitable Parker yelling "Daddy, Daddy!"

Booth stepped just enough away from Brennan to scoop up Parker as he came running up to him. "Hey, bub."

Parker had been sitting in the back of the courtroom with Rebecca's mother when the verdict was told. He didn't spend the whole day there but, Drew had told her when the judge had ordered a recess to make a decision and she brought Parker to the courthouse. He hadn't understood most of what the big man with the little hammer said but his Granny said that he would live with his Daddy now and that Mommy had to find a new job because she wasn't allowed to do her old one anymore.

"Do I get to live with you now?"

"Yeah, bub. Is that ok?"

"That's great! I miss you when you're not around, Daddy."

"Are you going to miss mommy?"

"Yeah, but she isn't as much fun as you and she always wanted me to love Captain Fantastic more than you. But I didn't cause _you're_ my Daddy." Booth grinned at his son's specific blunt manner that was a unique combination of being a little kid and spending time with Brennan. Booth pulled Parker tighter to him as Brennan watched on with a smile.

"Daddy?"

"Yeah Parks?"

"Is Dr. Bones your girlfriend now? I saw you kiss her earlier and only boyfriends and girlfriends kiss."

Booth looked at Parker dumbstruck. He wasn't sure what to say to him that wouldn't make Brennan run for the hills. In the end, he decided to go for blunt honesty. Maybe, not quite as blunt as Brennan but it worked for her so he gave it a try. "I'd like her to be but, I don't know if she is. Why don't you ask her?" Booth knew that was sneaky of him but he couldn't help it. Most of the other people had filed out of the courtroom, so he figured now might be as good a time as any to try it out.

Parker wiggled to get down and once he had two feet on the ground he sprinted over to Brennan. "Dr. Bones!"

Brennan squatted down so she was eye level with Parker. "Yes, Parker. What is it?"

"Are you my daddy's girlfriend now?" Her eyes snapped up to Booth. Though she had heard what he had said to Parker she had to see if there was any doubt in him. When she found none, she turned back to Parker to give him his answer. "How would you feel if I was?"

"I think it'd be cool!" Brennan stood and picked up Parker and went back to Booth. She walked up to him and kissed him again before smiling at him.

Booth grinned at Brennan and Parker thinking that he finally got his family. It might not have been in the most conventional of manners but it was his and he wouldn't change it. Once Brennan put Parker down Booth slipped an arm around Brennan's waist and said, "Let's go home." With that Parker grabbed Booth's hand and they walked out of the courtroom.

Yep, it had been a really REALLY good day.

* * *

 **AN: Ok! That's it!**

 **I know that most of you wanted a big battle royale and a huge event but I just didn't know how to write that. I took a few liberties with this but I hope everything is accurate. I did check a few things but since I've never actually SEEN a family court trial I adapted what I could. I hope it was still realistic enough. If there's some glaringly wrong thing in here, please tell me and I'll fix it.**

 **I didn't mean for this to have a romantic subplot but there it is. Oops. I think Brennan might be a little OOC towards the end and I'm sorry about that. I'm not H.H.**

 **I had to throw in a little disability joke. I use a wheelchair and can't kick anyone's ass but rolling over their toes with my chair can be just as effective!**

 **Review if you please!**


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